So, I went to YCombintaor Startup School today. It was a lot better than I imagined. Usually at most startup events, the speakers would talk about some common sense topic. However, I thought it was great because it had such a variety of speakers.
(Image Source: Posterous)
For example, Jack Sheridan (Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati) brought his legal expertise, Greg McAdoo (Partner at Sequoia Capital) talked about why it’s important ride a huge wave, and Paul Graham (Partner at Y Combinator) talked about the importance of just being “benevolent.” Moreover, David Heinemeier Hansson (Creator of Rails and 37Signals) really just forced me to think about the simplicity in charging for your web services and attacking niche markets. People can do surprisingly well targeting a niche market and charging a subscription fee. It might not be hard to find people who will just pay you if you can solve their problem. I also liked Mike Arrington’s speech about getting press to write about you: develop a story. It makes their life a lot easier. You don’t want to give bloggers extra work of thinking about who you are and how your product fits into the whole picture.
Here is the recording of startup school, brought to you by Justin.tv
Watch live video from HackerTV on Justin.tv
Another interesting observation was how many people were coding at the event. The crowd was full of true hackers and not people who waste half their days at meetings. It also great just to be around people who are always supportive what you do. Not everyone understand why entrepreneurs think or act the way they do. Community is our best asset at Silicon Valley; let’s always remember that.
More coverage here: TechCrunch, Wired, Kontsevoy, Gabor, MistOne, and PingPlog.
Popularity: 20% [?]
Writer: Jeff Wang. I am currently a student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Computer Science. Most posts will be dedicated to young entreprenuers.
nice write-up. I wish I could have been there.
jeff - nice wrap up - your point about community and Mike Arrington’s comments on it yesterday really grabbed me. i loved how he mentioned that he needed to meet with bloggers and entreps on a regular basis just to feel normal and how his parents just could not understand why he was no longer a lawyer. A different breed indeed and that event was a huge inspiration and reassurance that many like minded folks out their with a dime and a dream.
Jeff - great points about the event, I got a TON out of it and it’s pretty amazing that this was the first real event that I have attended here in Palo Alto (I moved here a week ago from Indiana - yes, Indiana.).
The many, many unique individuals around the valley are definitely the greatest entrepreneurial asset that we all have out here. The more people that we all can get feedback, criticism, inspiration and motivation from the better in my mind and that’s why building (and not breaking apart) the community is key.
It’s very rare that if you have a great idea that you ever succeed by yourself. The relationships, ideas, etc. that you get from others is always an important factor when developing out a product to the world.
This is going to be a fun Summer, eh?
Ryan, welcome to the Bay
[…] crowd will definitely be different from that of Y Combinator’s Startup School. I’ll share my thoughts. I’ll see you there (maybe […]
Hey thanks for the link back to my entry! Glad the photos were useful for you.
-g